Bulldogs 2, Monsters 0: Lake Erie back to losing ways

The Monsters played a hockey game Saturday night, and unfortunately for them it wasn't against the Milwaukee Admirals.

Hamilton, dead last in the AHL North, scored twice in the first period and made the lead stand to skate out of Quicken Loans Arena with an easy 2-0 victory in front of 10,011 fans.

It was Lake Erie's 11th loss in 13 games dating back to Feb. 1 and another poor effort in front of another large home crowd. Milwaukee is the only team the Monsters have beaten during the cold stretch that has lasted 30 days. They beat the Admirals, 7-1, on Feb. 21 at the Q and beat them again, 3-1, on Tuesday night.

"I was disappointed with the way we started," Lake Erie coach Dean Chynoweth said. "For the most part, they outworked us. That's unacceptable."

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Monsters goalie Calvin Pickard was spectacular after giving up the two goals in the first period. Hamilton goalie Dustin Tokarski wasn't tested often, but when he was, he either smothered the puck or steered it out of harm's way.

Lake Erie put on sustained pressure in the last three minutes of the second period, highlighted by a blast from tight quarters by David van der Gulik, but Tokarski (11-4-3) never rattled.

"That was about it," Chynoweth said. "We wanted an easy game tonight, and you're not going to get that at this time of year.

"We didn't bear down, we missed the net, we took too long to get our chances off. They paid a price on the other side. They blocked shots. They got in lanes. They made it hard and we didn't."

Bulldogs defenseman Greg Pateryn scored the first goal on a blast from just inside the blue line that somehow snaked through five skaters in front of the net without hitting a body or a stick.

Michael Bournival made it 2-0 for Hamilton when he shot his own rebound inside the right post after a right pad save by Pickard.

Pickard made 28 saves and kept his team in the game.

Chynoweth was so desperate to get some offense going he pulled Pickard with 2:58 to play while the Monsters were on a power play. But even with a six-on-four advantage they could not push the puck past Tokarski, who won 12 playoff games last year for Calder Cup champion Norfolk.

"(Pickard) was good," Chynoweth said. "He was the least of our problems. You have to have some support around you. We had too many passengers tonight. Weekend games at home haven't been good."

The Monsters cannot sulk long. They host Rochester at 4 p.m. Sunday. The Americans, 2-1 winners over Syracuse on Saturday night, are two points behind Lake Erie (61 to 59) in the Western Conference. Rochester has four games in hand, so winning Sunday is crucial for the Monsters.